Keeping Her Head Straight for Civil Service Reform

Description

This drawing was published in Harper’s Weekly on October 24, 1885, as a smaller four-inch by four-inch engraving in the upper left corner of the page. The caption of the engraving in Harper’s Weekly reads: New York. "Captain, Ohio tumbled overboard." Captain Cleveland. "I can't stop now." Nast depicts President Cleveland as the captain of the ship. This drawing is a nod to Cleveland’s stance on Civil Service reform. Nast agreed with the President’s policy of earning political appointments on merit and not along party lines or favoritism.